Stranger Things season 4 revealed Vecna has been the true villain all along - and there have been clues to his existence in the first three seasons. Stranger Things has become a pop culture sensation, and it's easy to forget the show was originally proposed as a limited series.
Trivia. It was initially thought that the Mind Flayer was a non-human entity until it was revealed that Henry/Vecna/One was the true Mind Flayer, thus making him the real mastermind behind the events of the series and the one pulling the strings in the first place.
In D&D, Vecna is not, in fact, the strongest villain – the honor is given to Borys, the Red Dragon.
The Duffer Brothers had Vecna planned from the start, which is how they were able to tie his character into earlier seasons. Stranger Things revealed Vecna was also behind the Mind Flayer that appeared in season 2.
Trapped there, his body twisted and disfigured, Creel became an explorer and managed to use his powers to bind every creature in this dimension together into a hive mind. It turns out everything that has been happening at Hawkins has been orchestrated by Creel - or Vecna, as the kids called him.
While intending to get his revenge on Eleven and Brenner, Vecna also goes after victims who have dealt with traumatizing experiences in the past (reminiscent of his childhood and his time at the Hawkins lab).
Ultimately, it is revealed in Stranger Things season 4's finale that the reason why Vecna was killing Hawkins teenagers was to create a massive gate that merges the Right Side Up with the Upside Down - and he specifically needed four bodies to do so.
It seems that the reason why Vecna wasn't killing for the seven years after the Hawkins Lab massacre was because he was waiting to become more powerful as the Mind Flayer and Demogorgons took more victims, as he was likely weakened after being thrown into the dimension.
If he couldn't physically leave the Upside Down, Vecna needed to use the Mind Flayer to attack Hawkins. He also needed to figure out how strong Eleven's power had gotten since their last face-off. Through Demogorgons and The Mind Flayer, Vecna began to slowly break down the barriers between the two worlds.
In episode 7, Vecna is revealed to be Henry Creel (played as a youngster by Raphael Luce), the son of Victor Creel (Robert Englund) and his wife Virginia (Tyner Rushing) shown in the 1950s flashbacks.
At his empire's height, Vecna was betrayed and destroyed by his most trusted lieutenant, a vampire called Kas the Bloody-Handed, using a magical sword that Vecna himself had crafted for him, now known as the Sword of Kas.
(All of which have been cited by show creators the Duffer brothers as inspirations for the villain.) But he does have a surprising weakness: music.
How Many People Has Vecna Killed? Eleven's count may be high, but Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) has her beat. The monster formerly known as Henry Creel has directly killed 40 people.
However, within the red smoke of Vecna's Mind Lair, it wasn't the song itself that saved her, but the memories it conjured up. What broke through to Max was the happy, loving memories of her friends, particularly Lucas and Eleven, and these were what truly allowed her to break free of Vecna's grasp and escape.
Vecna successfully stole Eleven's powers when controlling the Mind Flayer in Stranger Things' season 3 ending, which finally allowed him to emerge stronger than Eleven and enact his plan to take over Hawkins with the Upside Down.
Connecting to the Mind Flayer's hive mind allowed Henry Creel to become the version of Vecna that audiences see in Stranger Things season 4, controlling the Demobats, Demodogs, and Demogorgons across the Upside Down and the real world.
There is a lot of evidence suggesting both frightening villains were behind the vanishing of Will Byers, but we have to give the win to Vecna. There is much more evidence suggesting that it was the super-powered bad guy, and even if Vecna sent a Demogorgon to kidnap Will, it would still be Vecna who is responsible.
While Vecna was severely injured by Steve, Nancy, and Robin, he was still able to kill Max, opening the final gate that was needed for the Upside Down to spill out into Hawkins. Because Eleven was battling Vecna in Max's mind, she was able to bring her friend back to life, albeit in a coma.
In a fit of rage, Henry used his restored powers to brutally murder the other test subjects and workers, and attempted to do the same to Eleven. However, Eleven stood her ground and ultimately overpowered him, sending him through a gate to the Upside Down; there, he gradually transformed into the being known as Vecna.
Curiously, he also seems obsessed with time, projecting strange visions into his victims' minds—including of the grandfather clock from his home in the Creel House. Vecna's obsession with time appears to be linked to his hatred of humanity.
Hawkins has suffered a lot of trauma over the years - not all of which is connected to Hawkins Lab and the Upside Down - and Vecna's curse takes advantage of that. Vecna appears to carefully choose people who feel a strong sense of guilt or shame, particularly if those emotions are repressed.
Once he takes control of the mind, he traumatizes them by showing the visions of their dark past. He takes them to unknown places and gives them a glimpse of himself. The pain of his victims doesn't end here. Every single one of his victims experiences nose bleeding and severe headaches as well.
In the visions of her trauma induced by Vecna, Chrissy's mother appeared both mentally and emotionally abusive towards her daughter - and it's implied her comments about Chrissy's figure caused her daughter to develop her eating disorder.
However, either she didn't have a great aim or she was trying to play it safe because she didn't hit him in the face even once, and that may be the reason why Vecna is still alive. Obviously, Nancy was trying to play it safe. She even cut off the muzzle of her shotgun so she could have the best odds.
At the same time, Nancy, Steve and Robin reach Vecna's body in the Upside Down and throw multiple Molotov cocktails at him before Nancy shoots him, sending his blazing body flying out the window of the Upside Down's Creel House.